PRINTER'S NO. 2133
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
448
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY SCARNATI, BROOKS, McGARRIGLE, SABATINA, TEPLITZ,
MENSCH, ARGALL, FONTANA, EICHELBERGER, RESCHENTHALER,
SCAVELLO, KITCHEN, HUGHES, VULAKOVICH, WILEY, GREENLEAF,
GORDNER, BAKER, DINNIMAN, WHITE, COSTA, RAFFERTY, FARNESE,
TARTAGLIONE, WARD, HUTCHINSON, AUMENT, FOLMER, BROWNE,
KILLION, YUDICHAK AND BREWSTER, OCTOBER 13, 2016
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, OCTOBER 13, 2016
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 200th session of the General Assembly.
WHEREAS, The Provincial Assembly of the colony of
Pennsylvania first convened on December 4, 1682, in Upland, a
settlement on the land area where the Chester Creek entered the
Delaware River; and
WHEREAS, Operating as a unicameral body, the General Assembly
was enshrined in William Penn's 1682 Frame of Government as
having lawmaking powers that significantly expanded public
administration of the provincial government; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Constitution in 1776 granted
legislative power of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the
Pennsylvania Assembly, creating a unicameral House of
Representatives; and
WHEREAS, The 1790 Constitution of Pennsylvania established a
bicameral legislature, providing for a General Assembly
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consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly met for 102 sessions, annually,
from 1776 through 1878; and
WHEREAS, During that period, as the second colony to ratify
the Constitution of the United States and attain statehood on
December 12, 1787, in recognition of its notable contributions
to the developing Federal Government, Pennsylvania became known
as the Keystone State; and
WHEREAS, As a result of a new State Constitution in 1874, the
General Assembly met for 40 two-year sessions, starting in 1879
and lasting until 1958; and
WHEREAS, In 1959, the General Assembly, on recommendation by
the Commission on Constitutional Revision, amended the
Constitution and returned to counting each subsequent calendar
year, 58 in total, as one distinct legislative session; and
WHEREAS, In the span of 200 sessions, the General Assembly
has continued its service to the citizens of this great
Commonwealth through times of peace and war and diverse periods
of social, political and institutional change; and
WHEREAS, To further ensure the continuity of legislative
sessions, the General Assembly has been called to order in town
halls, inns, and taverns and convened in sites including the
original State House in Philadelphia, now known as Independence
Hall, the Lancaster County Courthouse, and the Dauphin County
Courthouse, the Redbrick Capitol, Grace United Methodist Church
and the Cobb Capitol in the City of Harrisburg; and
WHEREAS, The finely appointed chambers, offices, corridors
and other public spaces of the present Pennsylvania State
Capitol, conceived by architect Joseph Huston as "A Palace of
Art," are timelessly suited for the General Assembly's purpose
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of conducting the people's business; and
WHEREAS, The 200th session of the General Assembly began on
January 5, 2016, when the Senate and the House of
Representatives observed the first day of the second year of the
2015-2016 legislative session; therefore be it
RESOLVED (the House of Representatives concurring), That the
General Assembly commemorate the 200th legislative session; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That the 253 members of the General Assembly, men
and women representing all 67 counties of our Commonwealth,
reflect on our unique historical influences and proudly note the
steadfast and distinguished service of successive generations of
lawmakers; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the elected representatives of the General
Assembly sustain the vital role of our Commonwealth, as the
Keystone of our nation, in American history.
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